Music Lessons in Willamina, OR

Instruments: Voice Flute

Growing up with multiple educators in my family has had a huge impact on my life as a volunteer in classrooms.  My volunteer experience began when I was in fifth grade, and has continued throughout all of my education experience at Concordia.  As I kept growing into a stronger individual, I discovered that the age group I wanted to work with also grew older with me.  Working in multiple classrooms throughout my life has only strengthened my resolve to be a teacher because of the communities I have discovered through volunteering. Read More

Instruments: Piano Voice

I am a fast paced, energetic, positive-reinforcement kind of teacher. I like lessons to be fun and productive no matter the ability level. It is my belief that EVERYONE can sing, you just have to practice. A typical lesson involves a 10-15 minute warm-up, depending on the length of the lesson. That is followed by working on the songs that a student has prepared for the week. I like to work on a variety of songs to prevent boredom and frustration if a song is proving to be difficult on a particular day. Read More

Instruments: Piano

My teaching style can be adjusted to each particular student. Some students take piano lessons for relaxation, others are wanting to pursue a career in music. I can teach for both styles or even a combination of both styles. I set goals for each week that is provided in the piano homework or play work that I assign. I find this works very well. I have a very calm approach to my teaching and do not force things to work or happen. Read More

Instruments: Piano Guitar Voice Saxophone Clarinet Bass Guitar Synthesizer Ukulele Music Keyboard Electric Guitar Classical Guitar Acoustic Guitar

For kids I find that having a large quantity of music to learn at each level gives more variety and sense of achievement, so I usually recommend beginning students have multiple books to aid in learning. For example a young piano student will study from lesson, theory, performance, and technique books each week. This yields a well-rounded student who is proud of their achievements and eager to move forward. For adults I recommend a lesson/theory combination book at least to help with reading music. Read More

Instruments: Piano

Having had the experience of putting in a lot of practice during the week, only to be too tense and nervous during my lesson to play well, I try to make my lessons a place where students can feel calm and relaxed. Read More

Instruments: Piano Violin Viola Fiddle

Festivals include International Celtic Colours Festival, Cape Breton, Nova Scotia;International Festival-Institute at Round Top, Texas; Aspen Music Festival and School, Colorado. Performance experience includes: Miami Symphony Orchestra, Ars Flores Symphony Orchestra, Chehalem Symphony Orchestra, Cape Breton Chamber Orchestra, Lafayette Indiana Symphony Orchestra, Richmond Indiana Symphony Orchestra, Reno Symphony Orchestra, Reno Chamber Orchestra, Newport Oregon Chamber Orchestra. Teaching experience includes: Miami Dade College, George Fox University, Davis & Elkins College, Indiana University, University of Nevada. Read More

Instruments: Cello

For all beginning students, I start with the Suzuki books. They introduce new techniques in a comprehensible way that helps build upon fundamentals before progressing to more advanced techniques. After a bit with Suzuki, I like to add the Dotzauer etude book, which helps to focus on one technique per etude, building on what we learned earlier in Suzuki. Then, once the student’s musicality has developed a bit more, I add the first Bach Cello Suite: something recognizable, yet challenging and engaging. Read More